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An IRONMAN Legend's Time Management Tips

Think you’re too busy to train for an endurance event? Record-breaking age grouper Luis Alvarez explains how he fits it all in.

By Kevin Mackinnon

Already recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records for having completed every IRONMAN in the world, Luis Alvarez is still on a mission. The Mexican age group athlete aims to reach 100 races when he competes in Kona this October, which means he regularly competes in up to 13 full-distance races a year.

As if that weren't enough, Alvarez has also been methodically scaling peaks—aiming to climb all seven of the world's highest mountains. He scaled Kilimanjaro just days before IRONMAN South Africa, got to the top of Mount Elbrus the same week he finished IRONMAN UK and has Australia’s Mount Kosciuszko and South America’s Mount Aconcagua under his belt. He was 400 m short of making the summit of Mont Blanc last year when he had to turn around because of adverse weather conditions.

What's perhaps most impressive, though, is that Alvarez manages all these feats while running the world’s largest fuel tank manufacturer, SAG Mecasa. "I do these things in my vacations," he says. "So I have to squeeze 13 IRONMANS in my 30 days off. Last year I traveled to Australia for the weekend."

So how does he do it all? We caught up with the 51-year-old at the Timex Multisport Team training camp earlier this year to glean a few tips:

Set small, attainable goals

Alvarez started smoking at 11 and weighed over 200 pounds at the age of 24. He says he touched bottom when asked to do a physical fitness test for school and was the only one of 36 male students who couldn't walk 2 km. So he started setting small goals for himself.

"My first goal was to walk 5 km. Then to run 10 km. At the time those were extreme goals for me," he says.

From there, he set his sights on his first IRONMAN, graduated to three IRONMANs in one year, then ten in a year and finally set his sights on two in one week. Next, he decided to climb one of the world's highest mountains.

"Your goals don't need to be an IRONMAN at first," he says, "they just need to be something you can strive for right now that's beyond your current limits."

Create a team at work, be part of a team while racing

If you're a Type A personality (and let's face it, most triathletes are), you generally like to be busy and take responsibilities upon yourself. But Alvarez has found that creating— and relying upon—a strong team makes a world of difference.

"I have to be grateful for a great assistant and a great team back in Mexico," he says. "If I died tomorrow, nothing would fall apart with the company. Nobody can be irreplaceable, not even the owner or the CEO."

While creating conditions in which you can rely on others at work is key to carving out mental space for training, joining a team outside of work is what will keep you going. Alvarez is a Timex Multisport Team member, and says the experience has changed his life. It's kept him motivated and constantly pushing himself so as never to plateau.

"I think I’m the slowest guy on the team, but even though I am one of the slowest guys, they embrace me like all the other team members," he say. "If you’re part of this team, you’re part of a family."

Roll with the punches and let yourself adapt

From 2009 to 2010, Alvarez says his company struggled due to the recession. He knew that if they went bankrupt, 200 families would be in trouble. During those two rough years, he was so preoccupied that he had no time for training. Yet he still completed 12 IRONMANs.

What was the secret? A shift in his goals and a shift in his attitude.

"Life is 10 percent what you do and 90 percent how you perceive the situation," he says. "Those were the worst two years of my life [so] my goals changed. If I just finished, I was happy. I was very realistic."

Make the most of every minute

Alvarez's biggest secret may be his mastery of multitasking. A typical day in his life might make most mortals heads spin. He wakes up at 4 a.m. and responds to international emails, often while running on the treadmill (he has his computer hooked up to a big screen). He then hops on his motorcycle at the exact time his assistant gets to her desk, using a Bluetooth headset to dictate emails and review tasks during his 45-minute commute. At 2 p.m., he grabs a sandwich and disappears for a one-hour gym workout and also manages to squeeze in nonprofit work towards the end of the workday.

His day is long, yes, but the essential tenets are adaptable for the rest of us: Don't waste unnecessary time, and make room in your day for more than just work.

"Family is also extremely important," says Alvarez, who will be racing IRONMAN 70.3 Racine with his son this year, "and I try to take time on the weekends just for them."

Keep the good stress, disarm the bad

Alvarez is the first to admit he's addicted to setting new goals and the feeling of adrenalin. For him, being challenged to do something beyond his limits is a "good stress," and something worth making time for in his life. Troubles at work, such as those he experienced during the recession, he defines as "bad stress."

The beauty of IRONMAN, he says, is that it allows him to use positive challenges to counteract negative ones.

"IRONMAN takes a lot of the stress out of my work life, and my work life helps distract me from the stress of racing," he says. "Plus I solve a lot of work problems while I'm training or racing."

Alvarez is currently recovering from a disc issue in his back, and had to miss his 93rd IRONMAN in Lanzarote last week. We look forward to getting him back to the IRONMAN race circuit soon.